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Calling all computer gurus!

MechSpike

Grizzled Veteran
Dec 18, 2005
56
0
Okay so this Christmas is almost upon us and I am raking in the Christmas cash and I am planning on upgrading my computer...as of right now here is my setup...

Shuttle XPC Model SK83G
AMD Athlon 64 Socket 754 +3000 2.0 ghz
Two sticks of 512 Corsair RAM
ATI Radeon 9600 XT 128mb
250GB SATA HD

Okay I am estimating my cash flow will be about $300 once all is said and done possibly a little more...but I am wanting to upgrade something...I love my Shuttle but it doesn't do so hot when it comes to upgrading so I am thinking of upgrading to a full tower...nothing huge but something standard. I really need suggestions on whether or not I should A. Upgrade my mobo(for a bigger case) to AMD Athlon 64 Socket 939 and buy another CPU to fit B. Upgrade my mobo(for a bigger case) that supports AMD Athlon 64 Socket 754 and use the CPU I already have and possibly have enough left to buy a new GFX card. I just need some insight on suggestions on what I can do with that price range...I want to keep my computer at a fairly high standard nothing amazing but I don't want it to lag behind and since I have some extra money I am able to upgrade I thought it would be a good idea...okay....so PLEASE someone, everyone help me out...thanks!
 
I'd say that your videocard is the biggest bottleneck in your system. Personally i would upgrade that part and later on buy some new motherboard/proc/mem. The best thing for you with your budget would probably buying a socket 754 motherboard with pci express, and a pci express vidcard. Or just get a better vidcard and completely outlive the system. till you can upgrade it all together.
 
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guys i really appreciate your suggestions but you need to read my specs more carefully I have a Shuttle XPC computer...the thing is tiny...i have to by small enough power suppliess to fit into it....im running 240 Watts right now and all I have inside is a GFX card sound card HD and cdrom/burner that is practically all I can fit
 
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well yes I know its small I am fine with the case being small I have had it for about half a year now and I am used to working with it...all I am asking now...is what gfx card should I buy that will be a decent upgrade from a ATI 9600 XT 128mb and if I DO then will I need to upgrade my powersupply to 300W instead of 240W I am reading on a power supply generator thing and I am only coming up with 240W with an x800 pro gfx card...so I dont even think I need to upgrade my power supply yet...Donut sorry I appreciate your help but I am not paying 217 dollars for a Motherboard...and that graphics card is a baby step above mine...I seem to agree with Zetsumei that my GFX card is bottlenecking my system so what I need to figure out is what card to upgrade to...it has to be AGP 4x/8x and if I need a new power supply then I will have to spend 80 bucks on a 300W power supply....please guys I appreciate the help but no one seems to be understanding my situation...only a few...

okay look right now im shooting for this card...
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1699994&CatId=935
with this power supply (if needed)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817157006
according to this power usage calculator I punched in my specs and it only says I need 240W which is what I believe is already in my Shuttle right now...
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/Power_Supply_Calculator.php?cmd=AMD
 
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MechSpike said:
guys i really appreciate your suggestions but you need to read my specs more carefully I have a Shuttle XPC computer...the thing is tiny...i have to by small enough power suppliess to fit into it....im running 240 Watts right now and all I have inside is a GFX card sound card HD and cdrom/burner that is practically all I can fit

whoops! i suppose you need a microATX power supply. That might be harder to accomodate for a reasonable price.

This is probably the best bang for the buck you can find:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104904

Fortron is one of the best power supply manufacturers out there, so its a solid buy if you go for it. Plenty of 12V Amps.
 
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Spike...

I have a Shuttle SFF and I coundn't be happier. I have since upgraded as far as economically and physically possible...

I have upgraded from a 128mb 9600XT to an OC'd X800XL (fits the SB75G2.2 perfectly...) It runs at 102F/109F idle and 108F/150F under 100% strain...hot but stable, and you need only OC (if you are going to) when you fire up a game. It isnt' necessary to upgrade your PSU to support the extra juice the new cards well...but...

It certainly wouldn't hurt getting that 300W PSU. Stability in a hot environment is never a bad idea.
 
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MechSpike said:
well yes I know its small I am fine with the case being small I have had it for about half a year now and I am used to working with it...all I am asking now...is what gfx card should I buy that will be a decent upgrade from a ATI 9600 XT 128mb and if I DO then will I need to upgrade my powersupply to 300W instead of 240W I am reading on a power supply generator thing and I am only coming up with 240W with an x800 pro gfx card...so I dont even think I need to upgrade my power supply yet...Donut sorry I appreciate your help but I am not paying 217 dollars for a Motherboard...and that graphics card is a baby step above mine...I seem to agree with Zetsumei that my GFX card is bottlenecking my system so what I need to figure out is what card to upgrade to...it has to be AGP 4x/8x and if I need a new power supply then I will have to spend 80 bucks on a 300W power supply....please guys I appreciate the help but no one seems to be understanding my situation...only a few...

okay look right now im shooting for this card...
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1699994&CatId=935
with this power supply (if needed)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817157006
according to this power usage calculator I punched in my specs and it only says I need 240W which is what I believe is already in my Shuttle right now...
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/Power_Supply_Calculator.php?cmd=AMD

Umm, you should check those numbers, because the video card youre looking at http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1699994&CatId=935 the requirements say 350 watt P/S.

Minimum System Requirements
  • Available AGP 2.0/3.0 slot
  • Connection to the system power supply is required. The power supply should have a specialized 12V graphics card power connector (adapter included)
  • 350-Watt power supply or greater recommended
  • 256MB of system memory
  • Installation software requires CD-ROM drive
  • DVD playback requires DVD drive
You dont just get the motherboard, it comes with a Athlon 64 3200+ processor(socket 939), a fair bit better than your current 3000+, the videocard isnt a "baby step" above yours, unless you also consider doubling the memory a baby step. The difference youll see in performance is definately noticeable.

I spent $75 for an Antec 450W Smartpower, so wherever had a $80 300W supply, dont buy from there! And if you look at the overall picture, my suggestions give you a good processor capability increase http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/24659.PDF look at socket 939 over 754, so in fact, taken separately, the increases arent much, but you have to look at the overall system performance with my suggested upgrades.
Edit: Forgot to add that the board I suggested also supports the X2 processors, so when you want to upgrade to that processor, you wont need a new board, saving a fair amount of money.
 
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The Req'd power spec's are for systems with far more expandability, which the Shuttle does not have. It's a liability cushion in case the computer is already overloaded, they can't sue because they didn't have 350W+ PSU.

I have one of these systems (as I said earlier), with a similar video card, and a processor that sucks far more power than his AMD. 300W is more than enough to support anything one can pack into this small of a system. It sounds small, but one has to judge these systems on a different level than a full-tower system that can hold 4 HDs, 2 video cards, 2 processors, 4 5 1/2" drives, and 4 slots for memory, et al.

At best he'll have:
1 proc
2 HDs (only 1 if he has a floppy installed...)
1 video card
2 sticks of memory
 
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getting a new case ****s over your cool shuttle. 240 watts indeed isn't much. but watts say nothing you should look at the 12volt rail amperage of the psu.

Now we're talking about a power saving vidcard, i would say get a x800xl agp or a 6800gs agp (once it's out) they use new technology standards for manifacturing to use less power. The 6800gs will support pixelshader 3 and the x800xl pixelshader 2b. Basically you can say x800xl will have fancy water and surfaces the 6800gs will be a tad bit better looking.

I don't know what kind of psu size is the one inside atm but getting an other psu might be a safe bet. WIth some searching you could possibly find one, a shuttle pc is too cool and fancy to ditch for a shitty regular pc case :p
 
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Well, personally, I prefer biege.:eek: Just me, but I say screw looks, Id rather keep costs down, and have room and cooling ability over looks. Hell, if I ever need a new case(dunno why I would), I wont even bother looking at the "clear side window", "pretty colors", or "Nifty LED lights". Hell with that! Id rather save some money, and be able to get better stuff to put in it.
 
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Well, it seems like he had just wanted a video card upgrade, but posted this...

MechSpike said:
Okay so this Christmas is almost upon us and I am raking in the Christmas cash and I am planning on upgrading my computer...as of right now here is my setup...

Shuttle XPC Model SK83G
AMD Athlon 64 Socket 754 +3000 2.0 ghz
Two sticks of 512 Corsair RAM
ATI Radeon 9600 XT 128mb
250GB SATA HD

Okay I am estimating my cash flow will be about $300 once all is said and done possibly a little more...but I am wanting to upgrade something...I love my Shuttle but it doesn't do so hot when it comes to upgrading so I am thinking of upgrading to a full tower...nothing huge but something standard. I really need suggestions on whether or not I should A. Upgrade my mobo(for a bigger case) to AMD Athlon 64 Socket 939 and buy another CPU to fit B. Upgrade my mobo(for a bigger case) that supports AMD Athlon 64 Socket 754 and use the CPU I already have and possibly have enough left to buy a new GFX card. I just need some insight on suggestions on what I can do with that price range...I want to keep my computer at a fairly high standard nothing amazing but I don't want it to lag behind and since I have some extra money I am able to upgrade I thought it would be a good idea...okay....so PLEASE someone, everyone help me out...thanks!

I thought I made some good suggestions based on that, getting a new ATX case, doubling RAM in video card, and new mobo with processor already in it. You will need more that 300W soon, Id suggest at least a 400W (maybe as a birthday present? :D ). Some 400W to look at (Just as ideas)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103935&CMP=OTC-pr1c3watch&ATT=17-103-935

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=100867&AFFIL=pricewatch&NR=1

This is what I have http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103936&CMP=OTC-pr1c3watch&ATT=17-103-936
 
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